Empoli could sign Sebastiano Esposito on a permanent basis after positive early signs from his loan at the club.
Italian outlet FCInterNews report that there is little chance that the 22-year-old will remain an Inter player next summer. And Empoli are already positive on the idea of exercising their €5 million purchase option.
Striker Esposito joined Empoli on loan during the summer transfer window.
The Inter striker has had an eventful few years.
Having spent the 2019-20 season as part of the Nerazzurri first team setup under Antonio Conte – albeit making very few appearances – Esposito has gone out on a few loan moves.
In the 2020-21 season Esposito played for two different Serie A clubs. He was at SPAL for the first half of the campaign, before helping Venezia to promotion.
Then in the 2021-22 season, Esposito got his first experience abroad. He made the move to Swiss giants Basel on loan for the campaign.
Then, the young striker spent the first half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan with Anderlecht.
However, finding playing time hard to come by for the Belgian side, Esposito spent the second half of that campaign on loan with Bari.
Last season, Esposito was out on loan with Sampdoria.
It was a positive experience for the 22-year-old in Liguria. However, given that the Blucerchiati failed to win promotion to Serie A, it was not feasible for them to sign Esposito on a permanent basis.
Empoli Could Sign Sebastiano Esposito Permanently From Inter
Over the summer, there were links between Esposito and a few different clubs.
In the end, it was Esposito who sealed the deal to sign the Italian youth team international on a permanent basis.
The Tuscans signed Esposito on a season-long loan deal. This also contains an option to make the move permanent for a fee of €5 million.
Empoli are the first Serie A club for whom Esposito has played regularly, having had some positive stints in Serie B.
And the Inter-owned striker has already marked himself out as a regular starter for the Tuscans.
Esposito scored an important goal for Roberto D’Aversa’s team in a win over Cagliari this weekend.
The sense is increasingly that Empoli are happy to sign Esposito permanently if he keeps his early form up.
Empoli feel that they can either make Esposito an important part of their project, or sell him for more than the €5 million that they’d have to pay for him in the near future.
And for their part, Inter would be happy to finally find a permanent future for Esposito’s future.
The 22-year-old’s contract with the Nerazzurri runs until the end of next June.
Therefore, Inter can hardly send Esposito out on another loan again for the start of next season. Not unless they were to extend his contract, at least.
And neither Inter nor Esposito’s representatives are particularly keen on the idea of a new deal for the striker.
One way or the other, the priority is to find a permanent solution for Esposito.
It is looking more and more like that will be Empoli. But even if it is not, he will likely leave Inter for good this summer.